Half an hour later, Shuanzi helped Ma Huijuan get dressed, completely satisfied.

"Don't let Lin Tao know about this. If he finds out, he'll skin me alive. If you ever have any trouble in the future, come to me again."

Ma Huijuan buttoned up her clothes, her face flushed, and put the thirty yuan into her pocket.

"Thank you, brother."

She knew it was wrong, but what could she do? She was a delicate woman, and earning thirty yuan for one job was already quite good.

Moreover, Shuanzi's skills are far superior to Lin Tao's.

Unexpectedly, when she returned to the educated youth settlement, Yang Xu, a male educated youth, handed her a letter and a money order.

She couldn't wait to glance at the remittance slip, and it turned out to be a hundred yuan.

Could it be that her sister sent her money? No, that can't be right. She scolded her terribly during the day.

I opened the letter and read it carefully.

It turned out that the letter was written by a friend who claimed to be her sister. She said that she was Jiang Ning's sister and that her family had recently received a letter from Jiang Ning saying that she had been forced to marry a peasant and that if she wanted to get rid of him, she would have to pay to get a divorce. She also said that she was having a hard time in the countryside and asked them to send her some things.

She just wanted to indirectly verify whether these claims were true or not.

The signature is Jiang Rou.

Ma Huijuan read it several times before she finally understood the meaning of the letter.

This clearly shows a lack of trust in Jiang Ning!

It must be this Jiang Rou. I learned from her letter to Ma Huiwen that she and Jiang Ning don't get along.

Hehe, whether it's using someone else to do her dirty work or having the same goal, she decided to cooperate with Jiang Rou.

Soon, she picked up her pen and wrote a reply to Jiang Rou.

The letter naturally embellished and exaggerated Jiang Ning's true situation to her.

There's no such thing as divorce. The two of them are inseparable, even going to work together. They've probably caused quite a few people to get styes.

It's all a lie to say I'm living a hard life. I'm always eating and drinking well and visiting other people's homes. It couldn't be more comfortable. My mother-in-law does all the housework. Her hands are so well-maintained that they look like scallion segments.

Thinking about all this made her very angry.

Little did she know that when Jiang Rou received the letter, she was even angrier than she was, to the point that her chest ached with anger.

I never imagined that Jiang Ning would now learn to cheat her family out of money.

How come I never noticed how scheming she was before?

Before Jiang Ning went to the countryside, because her parents favored her, she tried her best to stand out. She would volunteer to do chores at home and study hard at school, always trying to steal her parents' attention.

Luckily, I'm not a pushover, otherwise I wouldn't be able to stay in this house.

No, we absolutely cannot let her succeed!

After she got off work, she bought a bag of her father's favorite pastries...

Ma Huijuan took Jiang Rou's money, and with the hundred she had earned herself, she finally got Old Lady Lin to relent.

This educated youth is different; marrying her is like marrying a money tree. If you ever run out of money, just ask her for it.

Lin Zhoushi had a plan, so she told Lin Tao to quickly take Ma Huijuan to get their marriage certificate, and then use the two hundred yuan to quickly prepare wedding attire and purchase banquet ingredients.

As for the money she has, she will take it out on the wedding day, and she will definitely outshine the neighbors then!

Soon, the news spread that on the fifteenth of August, both of Lin's grandsons got married.

This is one of the biggest news stories in recent years.

Everyone's talking about whose banquet will be the biggest, and how much money should be given as a gift...

At this time, everyone was struggling financially, with little to no food. They were just waiting for a wedding or funeral to provide a feast and improve their meals!

Lin Tao, clutching a huge sum of two hundred yuan, made a big fuss. He specially booked the most respected chef in the village who was good at preparing banquets, and also ordered half a pig, ten catties of wedding candy, and one hundred catties of bulk wine from the township. He hired several people to carry the things back.

For commune members who barely earn any money throughout the year, this was quite a grand affair.

On the contrary, Lin Chen and his group once bought a few pieces of furniture, had someone help carry them back, and offered each other a cigarette. After that, they were no longer seen making large-scale purchases.

In fact, Lin Chen had plenty of time to prepare, buying a little something for his family every day.

We already bought the melon seeds and candies, all the things we need to serve our guests.

As for pork, I bought dozens of kilograms in several batches and kept them at home.

He had already bought twenty braised pork knuckles, the highest-grade dish for banquets in Chayuan Village, and stored them in the cellar where he used to store sweet potatoes.

However, these advance preparations, under the deliberate instigation of some people, were portrayed as Jiang Ning and Lin Chen being generous to themselves but stingy to outsiders, unwilling to spend money on the banquet.

Gao Qiang and Lin Fugui were in a dilemma at home.

It's easy to talk to other families; they can send anyone they want. But not them.

They are the leaders of the team, and they must attend every wedding banquet they attend, since they cannot be split into two groups.

The two then discussed it and decided that each of them would go to one of the houses.

In the end, it was decided that Lin Fugui would go to Lin Chen's house, and Gao Qiang would go to Lin Tao's house.

Their daughters-in-law would then represent their families at another household.

Following Wang Xiufen's instructions, Jiang Ning wrote invitations to all the families who needed them.

Anyway, she invited him, so whether he comes or not is beyond her control.

Wang Xiufen was a little nervous.

What if I get overshadowed by the wedding next door?

"How could I not be nervous? Look, my body is shaking. Ah Chen has finally gotten married after all these years. It's a way for me to give his father some peace of mind."

Jiang Ning didn't have any pre-marital anxiety; instead, she became terrified.

No wonder, after years of widowhood, she was not intimidated by having to compete with her sister-in-law in her marriage.

If the neighbor across the street really steals the spotlight, she will only feel incompetent.

She looked around carefully, sneaking glances here and there, afraid of missing anything and ruining the wedding.

Lin Chen laughed at her, "Mom, you're so nervous, it's making me nervous too."

Even though they've already registered their marriage and shared a bed for over a month, he still feels like Jiang Ning is like quicksand in his hands, ready to slip away at any moment.

The mother and son checked all the wedding supplies in the house one last time, and all the ingredients were washed and prepared in advance...

It wasn't until 7 p.m., when everything was ready, that the two of them finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Jiang Ning then remembered something, raised her wrist to look at it, and reminded the two of something:

"Shouldn't Xiaoqiao be back by now? It's already seven o'clock."

Wang Shufen's nerves, which had just relaxed, tensed up again. "I can usually get home by 6:30."

Lin Chen quickly got on his bicycle and rode away.

He arrived at Gao Qiang's house and saw that Gao Xiaolan had already returned, so he inquired about Lin Qiao's situation.

Gao Xiaolan rolled her eyes and said irritably:

"I'm not a mind reader, how would I know where she is?"

Lin Chen was furious and quickly stepped onto the pedals to ride his bike.

Just then, he saw Lin Qiao walking this way and grinned as he went to greet her.

When Gao Xiaolan saw Lin Qiao, her expression changed. She had actually returned so quickly!